TV violence on kid shows criticized

Television programming targeted to children ages 5 to 10 contains, on average, almost twice as many violent incidents as prime-time shows geared toward adults, according to a study released Thursday by a conservative media watchdog group.

The report -- “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing: A Content Analysis of Children’s Television” -- was prepared by the Parents Television Council, which analyzes profanity, sexual content and violence in the media and has filed many indecency complaints with the Federal Communications Commission.

L. Brent Bozell, president of the Los Angeles-based council, told a news conference that parents often are unaware of the “inappropriate content” that their children are viewing, assuming a show is “child-friendly.”

“We do realize that this is probably not a deliberate effort by the networks to undermine the social fabric of young children, but this thoughtlessness still produces the same end result,” Bozell said.

The council charted incidents of violence, profanity and sexual content on entertainment geared toward children ages 5 to 10 on four broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, Fox and the WB) and four basic cable networks (ABC Family, Cartoon Network, the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon). Researchers focused on after-school and Saturday morning programs that were “deemed suitable for children” by the networks, Bozell said.

Children’s programming on public television was not examined. Neither did the study include children’s educational programming.

Academics have questioned the methodology in previous reports done by the council but said there clearly are high levels of violence in children’s programming. Even with the FCC’s parental guidance ratings system, instituted in 1997, “there is an astounding level of violence in shows rated for children,” said Dale Kunkel, a researcher at the University of Arizona at Tucson. “You cannot be confident a TV-Y show is absent of violence,” he said. “Quite the contrary.”

Other advocates suggested that while the report offers no groundbreaking findings, it does underscore the need for parents to remain vigilant. “This is just another in a series of studies or reports that reminds parents they have to be more engaged and involved in their kids’ media consumption and have to set a healthy media diet for their kids,” said James Steyer, chief executive officer of Common Sense Media, a children’s advocacy organization.

In the 443.5 hours of programming examined, the study found 3,488 occurrences of violence, averaging 7.86 instances per hour. By contrast, the council said, a 2002 study of six broadcast networks’ prime-time programming found an average of only 4.71 violent incidents per hour.

Kunkel noted that the report does not define violence or what qualifies as an insulting remark. He said viewing TV violence poses a risk of three types of harmful effects on children: They learn and are quicker to act out aggressive behaviors; they become desensitized or callous to real-world violence; and they develop an exaggerated fear of being victimized.

Perhaps because it had more programming examined than most other networks studied, the Cartoon Network was cited as having the most violence. In a statement, the network replied that although they had not yet thoroughly reviewed the report, “we are confident that our Standards and Practices policies ensure that the programming on our air is age-appropriate. All of our shows undergo several reviews throughout the production process to make sure that they are suitable for their intended viewers.

“Additionally, since 1998, Cartoon Network has voluntarily labeled all of its programming with the industry-standard ratings to inform parents of the content of each show.”

The report noted that much of the violence on children’s programming today is different from the “cartoon violence” that many adults used to watch -- such as anvils falling on Wile E. Coyote’s head. It cited a scene from Cartoon Network’s “Totally Spies!” in which one character locks two others in a glass jail cell and releases rats, “leaving them to psychological torture.”

ABC Family, which was rated on five hours of Saturday programming, had “the most punch per program,” according to the report, with 10.96 violent incidents per episode.

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), a member of the council’s Celebrity Advisory Board, accused the networks of targeting young children with violent programming and said companies need to be held responsible. “The level of violent material, sexual innuendo and lack of respect for parents is extensive, realistic and harmful,” Brownback said.

Brownback said the Senate Commerce Committee, of which he is a member, would begin hearings soon to examine the possibility of increasing the fines for “violent and sexual material in over-the-air broadcasting.”